Knicks Haven't Changed

A Fight Between Charles Oakley And Charles Barkley Shows New York Has Not Lost Its Physical, Aggressive Style.

October 27, 1996|By Mike Wise, New York Times

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS — Clyde Drexler was not fooled, having watched Charles Oakley body-slam his teammate earlier in the evening and seeing the brief melee that ensued. It was Friday night, the Knicks were up for a scrap, and someone was in their way.

''I can't say if they're a changed team,'' the veteran Houston guard said after an ugly preseason game at the Summit. ''But they still look pretty physical and aggressive to me. That's still their style.''

Drexler, like everyone in the building, watched Oakley and Charles Barkley trade punches, Patrick Ewing and Kevin Willis exchange shoves and swear words and watched a game go terribly awry in the first quarter. All four belligerents were ejected. Houston's Mario Elie thought it resembled a boxing match, and the post-fight news conference seemed to support his claim.

''He's the dirtiest player in the NBA,'' Drexler said of Oakley.

''A flagrant cheap shot,'' Barkley intoned.

Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy? Big deal, he essentially said Saturday.

The Knicks may have overhauled their roster completely, getting rid of menacing glares and bringing in more people who can simply put the ball in the basket. But some habits die harder than others.

''I liked our intensity that night,'' Van Gundy said, defending his players and his team's style of play. ''I don't want any of our guys to lose any games or money or anything like that to suspension. I believe the same as everybody else. Even the guys that were involved would say fighting has no place in the game. But intensity does. And I think that's the only thing Oak did last night was play hard.''

Oakley, who along with Barkley will be suspended at least one game for throwing a punch - and possibly two games for the aggressive loose-ball foul that was called - was prepared to accept his punishment.

''I don't know, I was just in the mix of the game,'' he said of the play. ''It just happened.''

The sequence began when Barkley grabbed his own rebound off a blocked shot by Ewing. He seemed to be going up when Oakley nearly harnessed him, the force of his body sending Barkley to the hardwood on his back. Barkley rose quickly and gave Oakley a two-handed shove, and the fists began flying with 9 minutes, 6 seconds remaining in the first quarter. Both were ejected.

Rod Thorn, the league's vice president of operations, plans to review the tape on Monday.

The upshot of the incident is that both teams will be missing one of their key players on opening night. And it will be the second time in two years Oakley will miss the season opener because of fighting.